Furnace wall



Jan. '24, 1967 G, F; DAVEY FURNACE WALL 7 Original Filed Sept. 24, 1963 FIG. 3

FIG. 2

FIG"! 1 Z I H FIG 14 GERIALDY F. DAVEY INVENTOR.

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United States Patent FURNACE WALL Gerald F. Davey, Holden, Mass, assignor to Riley Stoker Corporation, Worcester, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Continuation of application Ser. No. 311,063, Sept. 24,

1963. This application Nov. 9, 1964, Ser. No. 411,181 2 Claims. (Cl. 52483) This invention relates to a furnace wall and, more particularly, to the application of insulation to a furnace Wall. This is a continuation of my co pendin-g patent application Serial Number 311,063, filed September 24, 1963 now abandoned.

In the manufacture of heat power equipment, such as steam generating units, it is necessary to fasten sheets of insulation to the exterior surfaces of the walls to prevent the escape of heat. A popular form of insulation is supplied in a large sheet or bat two or three inches thick and of considerable area. In the past, this insulation has been applied by fastening lengths of wire to the wall to which the insulation is to be applied; this fastening takes place by welding one end of the wire to the metal wall so that the wire extends at a right angle to the plane of the wall. Then, the insulation is impaled on these pins and the pins are bent over to hold the insulation firmly in place. This method has proved to be quite expensive not only because the welder is an artisan whose hourly rate is quite high but because in the construction of a wall it is necessary to interrupt one tradesman who is building the wall to bring in the other tradesman (the welder) to put the wires on before the first tradesman can proceed to finish the wall. These and other difiiculties experienced with the prior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.

It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide a furnace wall having a fastener which may be applied to a heat exchanger wall or the like without the use of welding.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a method which may be used to apply insulation to a wall of the steam generating unit or the like wherein a fastener may be applied to the wall by inexpensive labor and wherein the process of constructing the wall is not interrupted by the necessity of using more than one class of union labor.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a wall including a fastener which may be cheaply made on automatic machinery and which may be readily attached to road mesh or the like and locked in place quickly and simply.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.

The character of the invention, however, may be best understood by reference to one of its structural forms as illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fastener,

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of a fastener,

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a fastener taken at right angles to the view in FIG. 2, and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a wall embodying the principles of the present invention and showing the fasteners in use.

Referring first to FIG. 1, which best shows the general features of the invention, the fastener, indicated by the reference numeral 10, is shown in use with a mesh 11 and, specifically, with the intersection of two rods 12 and 13. The fastener is made of a single piece of wire which is bent to provide a straight portion 14, the first U-shaped portion 15, a second U-shaped portion 16, and a third U-shaped portion 17. The first U-shaped portion 15 extends under the rod 12 at one side of the rod 13. The second U-shaped portion 16 extends over the rod 13 at one side of the rod 12. The third U-shaped portion 17 extends under the rod 12 on the other side of the rod 13. All of these U-shape d portions are located closely adjacent to the intersection of the rods 12 and 13.

Referring to FIG. 2 and 3, it can be seen that the straight portion 14 is connected to one leg 18 of the first U-shaped portion 15. The first U-shaped portion 15 is provided with another leg 19 which blends with a first leg 21 of the second U-shaped portion 16. The second U-shaped portion 16 has its other leg 22 connected and merging with a first leg 23 of the third U-shaped portion 17. The third U-shaped portion 17 is provided with another leg 24 which is much longer than the legs of the other U-shaped portions for a purpose which will he described more fully hereinafter. The U-shaped portions 15 and 17 lie in parallel, spaced planes, while the U- shaped portion 16 lies in a plane which is at a right angle to the others.

The operation of the apparatus will now be readily understood in view of the above description. Referring again to FIG. 1, the user grasps the fastener 11 (in the condition that is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) with the leg 24 extending parallel to the straight portion 14. The straight portion 14 and the leg 24 are slid under the rod 12 on either side of the rod 13 and then the entire fastener is rotated through to bring the second U- shaped portion 16 into contact with the rod 13. When this condition is reached the straight portion 14 extends at a right angle to the mesh 11 as does the leg 24. Then the leg 24 is bent over the top of the rod 13 on the opposite side of the rod 12 from the second U-shaped portion 16. As a matter of fact, the leg is bent downwardly so that its end is well below the plane of the mesh. In this final condition, then, the fastener is locked in place with the straight portion 14 extending at a right angle to the mesh and available for the im-paling of insulation thereon.

FIG. 4 shows the manner in which the fastener 10 may be used in connection with the hot air duct of a steam generating unit. The duct wall 25 is formed of sheet metal, each sheet being provided with flanges 26 which abut and which are welded together. Over this wall are placed a number of reinforcing angle irons 27. Extending out from the wall is a number of rods 28 which are welded to the outer surface of the wall 25 at a right angle thereto. The rods 28 are all of the same length and to their outer ends is welded the sheet of mesh 11. This mesh is the so-called road mesh and in the commercial case is manufactured from rods of No. 6 gauge steel rod woven together in a crosswise manner. The fasteners 10 are attached to the intersections of these rods of the mesh and a suitable number of them extend outwardly. Then the sheets of insulation 29 and 31 are impaled on the fasteners and the outer end of the straight portion 14 is bent over to lock the insulation in place. In the preferred embodiment, before the fasteners 10 are bent, a layer of chicken wire 32 is laid over the outer surface of the insulation and the end of the straight portion 14 of the fasteners 10 is bent over this chicken wire to assist in holding the insulation in place.

It can be seen, then, that once the road mesh 11 has been provided around the duct wall 25, the workers who apply the insulation 29 and 31 are able to do so without being interrupted to bring in a welder to attach fasteners. The insulation applier will carry a bundle of the fasteners 10 with him and apply them, probably using a pair of pliers to bend the leg 24 over to lock the fastener in place on the mesh.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form and construction of the invention without departing from the material spirit thereof. It is not, however, desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include all such as properly come within the scope claimed.

The invention having been thus described, what is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A furnace wall, comprising a mesh having rods which intersect at right angles, layers of insulation overlying the mesh, a cover material extending over the insulation on the side opposite the mesh, a fastener comprising an elongated straight portion adapted to extend perpendicular to the plane of the mesh and through the insulation, a first U-shaped portion having one -leg connected to the straight portion and adapted to extend under one of the rods adjacent an intersection on one side of the other rod, a second U-shaped portion having one leg connected to the other leg of the first U-shaped portion and adapted to extend over the other rod adjacent the intersection on one side of the said rod, a third U-s'haped portion having one leg connecting to the other leg of the second U-shap-ed portion and extending under the said one of the rods adjacent the intersection on the other side of the said other rod, the elongated straight portion being bent into the plane of the said cover material to lock the mesh insulation and cover to themesh.

2. Method forming a furnace wall, including the application of insulation to a mesh having two rods which intersect, comprising the steps of applying to the mesh a fastener having an elongated straight portion adapted to extend perpendicular to the plane of the mesh, a first U-shaped portion having one leg connected to the straight portion and adapted to extend under one of the rods adjacent the intersection on one side of the other rod, a second U- shaped portion having one leg connected to the other leg of the first U-shaped portion and adapted to extend over the other rod adjacent the intersection on one side of the said rods, a third U-shaped portion having one leg connected to the other leg of the second U-shaped portion and extending under the said one of the rods adjacent the intersection on the other side of the said other rod, bending the other leg of the said third U-sha ped portion over the said one of the rods adjacent the intersection and beside the elongated straight portion, applying insulation by impaling it on the elongated straight portion, apply-ing a cover over the insulation, and bending the elongated straight portion into the plane of the cover to lock the insulation and cover to the mesh.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 495,029 4/1893 Depew 287-- 1,856,205 5/1932 Boyle 52714 2,580,231 12/1951 Lam-m 52--714 X 2,595,123 4/1952 Callan 52410 X FREDERICK L. MATTESON, JR., Primary Examiner.

R. A. DUA, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A FURNACE WALL, COMPRISING A MESH HAVING RODS WHICH INTERSECT AT RIGHT ANGLES, LAYERS OF INSULATION OVERLYING THE MESH, A COVER MATERIAL EXTENDING OVER THE INSULATION ON THE SIDE OPPOSITE THE MESH, A FASTENER COMPRISING AN ELONGATED STRAIGHT PORTION ADAPTED TO EXTEND PERPENDICULAR TO THE PLANE OF THE MESH AND THROUGH THE INSULATION, A FIRST U-SHAPED PORTION HAVING ONE LEG CONNECTED TO THE STRAIGHT PORTION AND ADAPTED TO EXTEND UNDER ONE OF THE RODS ADJACENT AN INTERSECTION ON ONE SIDE OF THE OTHER ROD, A SECOND U-SHAPED PORTION HAVING ONE LEG CONNECTED TO THE OTHER LEG OF THE FIRST U-SHAPED PORTION AND ADAPTED TO EXTEND OVER THE OTHER ROD ADJACENT THE INTERSECTION ON ONE SIDE OF THE SAID ROD, A THIRD U-SHAPED PORTION HAVING ONE LEG CONNECTING TO THE OTHER LEG OF THE SECOND U-SHAPED PORTION AND EXTENDING UNDER THE SAID ONE OF THE RODS ADJACENT THE INTERSECTION ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SAID OTHER ROD, THE ELONGATED STRAIGHT PORTION BEING BENT INTO THE PLANE OF THE SAID COVER MATERIAL TO LOCK THE MESH INSULATION AND COVER TO THE MESH. 